Review: Alien Charades in Gilded Armor in Forward Flux's THE WEDDING GIFT

What do you get when you cross a science fiction slavery parable with a game of charades? You get Forward Flux's production, "The Wedding Gift" by Chisa Hutchinson.

Directed by Wesley Fruge and Pilar O'Connell, in this production, all but one character speak a fictional alien language.

The actual story line itself is pretty simple. A man is presented to a regal couple as a gift, and he must stay on this planet with the alien couple as their slave. Things become complicated when the princess alien becomes attracted to the slave. There is a sub-plot about the high priestess being a secret mother. This sub-plot holds some narrative weight in that Doug gains sympathy from the priestess by telling her that he has a daughter. Cue various circumstances of familial drama leading to a pretty seamless conclusion (with a fun twist).

Aesthetically, "The Wedding Gift" created a regal, elegant culture. The alien dress code consists of layering strappy black and gold pieces, metallic makeup, and tall, bejeweled headdresses. I really enjoyed how the prince and princess wore very similar outfits to their wedding-gold skirts; black, harness-like tops; and long, tulle veils cascading behind teardrop crowns. These two characters dressed equal-parts masculine and feminine, a touch that felt very progressive and accurate.

As the audience, we have the fun job of trying to figure out what's going on along with Doug in real time, because, like Doug, most of us don't speak alien. Doug grasps at straws, just trying to get home (at first). The alien language spoken in "The Wedding Gift" has a cadence and rhythm that makes it possible to decipher. Granted, a lot of the story gets lost in translation, but you get the gist. This futuristic landscape at least feels and emotes like we humans on Earth do in the present day, so adjusting to the language isn't unlike adjusting to Shakespeare. Believe it or not, this was my first alien language play without subtitles, and I found this risky dialogue decision to be a victory.

At its core, the production is a parable about slavery, which you would not think would work as a comedy. But it does. Most of the comedy comes from Doug trying to communicate with the aliens, or vice-versa, and failing. What felt out of place and unnecessary was the smattering of pretty lowbrow comedy in this production. At times it felt like Hutchinson's 15-year-old son snuck in to put in a boob joke while she was away from her desk, and she didn't notice. At one point, Doug finds a comically large dildo and uses it for self-defense. Two characters use a toilet as an escape chute in the latter half of the play. The alien prince even expresses his displeasure with the size of his wife's breasts by drawing a woman with gigantic ones on a pad of paper. Yes, the bulk of the production is in a made-up language, so having a punch-line land is not easy. But the verbal gymnastics Doug has to do in order to be understood, as well as these once very regal-looking characters basically play charades with one another provides plenty of comedy. No need to dumb-down the production with infantile sex jokes.

There was a bit of a disparity between the actors' performance styles: some actors exaggerated their cadence and movements more than others in order to get the point across, giving some performances a bordering on cartoonish feel to them. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, this does take place in a futuristic landscape where aliens get married and give human men as gifts. But it created a tonal imbalance that could throw off the chemistry between characters.

For playing a just regular dude, Andrew Shanks had outstanding comedic timing as Doug. Alaji Marie, too, had amazing comedic timing as the veterinarian. Nazlah Black's portrayal of the princess was charming and poised. As the jealous prince, Tré Calhoun was pompous and childish (like a lot of princes tend to be).

With a little refinement, this play could really shine (visually, it already does). Weighing the off-balance script with the fun concept and costumes, I give "The Wedding Gift" 3.5/5 stars. The costumes are no joke, but for a slavery parable, the production is pretty silly.

Forward Flux's "The Wedding Gift" performs at Gay City Arts through October 8, 2016. For tickets and information, visit them online at www.forwardflux.com.

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